Strange but True

Niagara County sheriff's deputies say 25-year-old Nicholas Sparks of Burt admitted he was texting and talking when his flatbed truck hit the car Wednesday morning in Lockport.

The truck then crashed through a fence and sideswiped a house before rolling front-end first into an in-ground pool.

The 68-year-old woman driving the car suffered head injuries and was in good condition. Her 8-year-old niece suffered minor injuries.

Sparks was charged with reckless driving, talking on a cell phone and following too closely. It couldn't be determined Thursday morning if he has a lawyer.

Never mess with the police

MANATEE, Fla. -- Authorities say a Florida motorist who used fake police lights to get through traffic was busted after an off-duty sheriff's deputy pulled over to get out of the way and became suspicious.

Manatee County Detective Jeff Lane was driving on a Florida interstate on July 18 when he saw the lights behind him and pulled over. When he saw that the passing car was a black BMW with no police markings, Lane became suspicious and wrote down the license plate number.

The sheriff's office said Lane connected the vehicle to a 34-year-old Sarasota man. The detective went to the Publix where the man worked Tuesday, and authorities say he admitted using the lights.

The man was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer. He was released Wednesday on bail.

UCLA bans Undie Run,

citing safety concerns

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA has stripped students of a racy tradition: the Undie Run.

University of California, Los Angeles, administrators told student leaders Tuesday that the unofficial tradition will be banned because of safety concerns.

Since 2002, students have run around campus at night in their underwear three times a year.

A UCLA statement says the runs have drawn up to 10,000 people, including many outsiders, and problems and policing costs have escalated.

The school says the June run was marred by fights, vandalism and alcohol-related medical emergencies.

The next run was scheduled for December.

Students leaders told the UCLA Daily Bruin they'll try to work on safety solutions so the run can still be held.

Oops! Minn. Dems' news

release has profane link

MINNEAPOLIS -- Next time, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party says it will closely check its online links before sending news releases.

The party had to recall a statement Thursday criticizing Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty because it mistakenly linked to a profane YouTube video.

DFL Executive Director Andrew O'Leary says the link came from an outside researcher who had not checked the link. The party did not double-check the link before sending the release, O'Leary said.

O'Leary says the party "obviously made a mistake." He says the statement was sent only to the news media, not the public.

The statement challenged Pawlenty, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, for criticizing President Barack Obama at a meeting of the Republican National Committee in San Diego.

Sacramento police

say man blew up cat

SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the death of a cat killed with explosives.

David Yang was arrested Wednesday.

Police say Yang tied up a cat with tape Tuesday night, trapped it with a construction cone on a street and then dropped an explosive device or firecracker into the cone. The cat died in the blast.

Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said police initially thought a few other teenagers were involved in the crime, but after an investigation determined that Yang was primarily responsible.

Yang is being held on a charge of malicious maiming of an animal. Bail is set at $40,000.